During a drilling operation, it may be desirable to evaluate and/or measure properties of encountered formations and formation fluids. In some cases, a drillstring is removed from a wellbore or borehole and a wireline tool is deployed into the borehole to test, evaluate and/or sample the formations and/or formation fluid(s). In other cases, the drillstring may be provided with devices to test, evaluate and/or sample the surrounding formations and/or formation fluid(s) without having to remove the drillstring from the borehole.
The formation testers of the drillstring and/or wireline tool may be used to, for example, evaluate and sample hydrocarbons extracted from a formation. Formation testers typically include a probe to gather fluid samples from the formation. A packer is often provided with the probe to create a seal against a wall of the borehole adjacent the formation. With a seal established between the borehole wall and the packer, fluid can be drawn from the formation into the formation tester.